GEAR TO GET

6 Made-to-Squish Items That Are Perfect for Travel

Let’s face it: Anything you can cram into your overstuffed suitcase stands a good chance of getting utterly crumpled. So why not embrace the chaos by choosing items that were built to be balled, wadded, and bunched? These six rough-and-tumble travel items crush the competition with style.

Rough-and-tumble gear that begs to be crumpled, wadded, crunched, and bunched.

(Levi Brown)

Water BottleA cut above its bulky, hard-plastic competition, Vapur's 14-ounce, BPA-free Anti-Bottle stands upright when full and collapses to about the size of a ChapStick tube when empty. Bonus: These sturdy, stain-resistant canteens are freezer- and (top-rack) dishwasher-safe. vapur.us, $16 for two.

KeyboardTired of tapping out e-mails on a netbook's tiny keys? The 17.5" inland Pro Foldable Black USB Keyboard weighs just under a pound, rolls up to roughly the size of a soda can, and withstands most spills, thanks to its rugged, water-resistant silicone. Take that, tray-table turbulence. amazon.com, $20.

Multitasking TeddyLike Superman in a phone booth, Frédéric Perigot's Bear Tote Bag transforms in an instant to solve two crucial travel problems. In stuffed-animal form, it distracts a fussy kid who is tired of his other toys; unpacked to form a 13.5" x 17.5" nylon tote, it's a lightweight way to transport a surplus of souvenirs. aplusrstore.com, $36.

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